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Razorbacks Ride Offense to Topsy-Turvy Win over SEMO to Open Regional

Hogs blow massive lead, offense ensures Arkansas stays in winner's bracket

Daniel Shi

Arkansas Razorbacks' first baseman Ben McLaughlin prepares to greet third base coach Nate Thompson after a three-run homer in the eighth inning.
Arkansas Razorbacks' first baseman Ben McLaughlin prepares to greet third base coach Nate Thompson after a three-run homer in the eighth inning. / Michael Morrison-allHOGS Images

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas won a slugfest with six homers to take down the Southeast Missouri State 17-9 off the back of five homers, including two from Ben McLaughlin, who finished the day with six RBIs.

"I thought the offense was really good," coach Dave Van Horn said. "The first inning, we only scored a run, but we took some really good swings. Made him throw some pitches and then kind of got it going again there in the second. Got into their bullpen pretty quick, which is always good to see."

After blowing an 8-0 lead, two of the streakier hitters on the team hit back-to-back homers in the bottom of the fifth to bail out a pitching staff that struggled with command. Wehiwa Aloy hit his team-leading 14th homer, a 427-foot shot down the left-field line, admiring his work before rounding the bases. Kendall Diggs followed with a wall-scraper that restored a two-run lead 10-8.

Hudson White continued his hot bat down the stretch with a solo homer into the bullpen in right field just two batters into the game to get Arkansas off to the best start possible.

"I’m just proud of the way we competed at the plate," White said. "We’ve been working hard all season. I felt like we were kind of due for a game like that."

Van Horn's gambit to start Mason Molina appeared to get off to the perfect start. After allowing a four-pitch walk to Brooks Kettering, he retired the next six hitters and appeared to have fallen into a nice groove.

Poor defense gave the Arkansas bats the opening it needed to put up a crooked number. With runners on first and second and already a run in the frame, Ty Wilmsmeyer hit a potential inning-ending double play ball to the second baseman Kettering. However, Kettering botched the shovel to the second base bag to allow a run to score and the Hogs kept runners on the corners and stretched the lead to 3-0. Jared Sprague-Lott dumped a two-run single into center and McLaughlin punctuated the frame with a line drive three-run homer to lead 8-0.

"I guess I want to talk to whoever said Arkansas can't hit." SEMO coach Andy Sawyers said.

The Razorbacks needed every single one of those runs as SEMO answered with eight straight runs with a pair of four-spots in the third and the fifth. The Redhawks came into the game with exactly 100 homers on the season and used their power stroke to erase a deep hole. Ben Palmer took advantage of a pair of walks from Molina to get the Redhawks back into the game. They added a fourth run with a sac fly off the bat of Josh Cameron to cut the lead in half, 8-4.

In the fifth, it was Will McEntire's turn to lose command and get himself in trouble after a leadoff walk and two singles loaded the bases to start the inning. After getting one run back on a fielder's choice, Cameron came up as the tying run and cranked a homer to tie the game. Dave Van Horn went to Christian Foutch to stop the bleeding and get out of the frame. Gabe Gaeckle then followed with three innings of one-run baseball, throwing a career-high 62 pitches.

"[Pitching] coach [Matt] Hobbs told me before the game crazy stuff happens in the postseason," Gaeckle said. "From the first pitch, I think we were all ready to go into the game. We just had to stay locked in the whole time."

The two teams continued to go back and forth. Both teams wasted opportunities in the sixth. SEMO stranded two in the top of the inning and Arkansas failed to add insurance despite having runners on second and third with no outs.

After SEMO got to within one run in the top of the eighth with back-to-back one-out doubles, McLaughlin would provide all the insurance that the Razorbacks would need, hitting his second three-run blast of the day to put the Hogs up 14-9. White added another three-run homer in the eighth.

The Razorbacks now await the winner of Kansas State and Louisiana Tech. The two teams will meet 8 p.m. Friday with the winner to face Arkansas 8 p.m. Saturday.

HOGS FEED:

• Razorbacks' fans of deja vu simply case of mistaken identity

• What's Van Horn's plan for capitalizing on Smith in regional?

• Razorbacks Need Bolt From Holt's Bat, Defense During Regional

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Daniel Shi
DANIEL SHI

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